Brooklyn Tech students uncover data breach

In January, students were able to access a Google Drive, containing documents uploaded by staff and students across New York City, due to a quirk in the school’s education department’s Google Drive sharing settings. 

Anyone with an email account issued by the education department was instantly able to look for files in Google Drive thanks to a hidden setting. 

College recommendation letters, classwork were among the dozens of pieces of information discovered on Google Drive.

Upon discovery the students arranged a meeting with senior staff at their school to discuss the breach, however after rechecking the Google Drive in March, even more documents were now accessible. This time students were able to view a school’s payroll document that contained teachers’ salary information, Social Security number, phone numbers and addresses.

On March 18, the city’s education department were notified of the breach by the students.